


You Are the Only Place (I Could Ever Be)

by Lunarblue21



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: 605 post ep fic, F/M, JA post ep fic fest - Freeform, Missing Scene Fic, for the JA post ep fic fest run by kiki on tumblr, s6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-28
Updated: 2015-05-28
Packaged: 2018-04-01 17:03:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4027876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunarblue21/pseuds/Lunarblue21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Jeff? Jeff?” Again, Annie’s voice awakens him from his fantasies of her. “Look at this. There’s an FBI office you can intern at in Denver. This is one way I can marry my forensics interest and my law understanding.”<br/>Jeff blinks at her as the word marry seeps into his brain. He’s nearly about to disappear into another daydream about him and Annie doing that very thing when the implication of Annie’s words hit him in the gut. </p><p> </p><p>[605 post ep fic. Written for kiki's post ep fic fest on tumblr that has started up again and like "Where the Night Takes Us" another JA fic of mine that I'm really proud of and is one of my favourites that I've written. Please read and review/comment? Kudos is nice, but engaging with others is more lovely to me!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Are the Only Place (I Could Ever Be)

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: From my own prompt after this ep released: [Annie leaves her room and runs into Jeff as he’s leaving, they spend the night “on the town” instead of at Jeff’s house.] and for kiki’s post ep fic fest and thanks to virginiagirl101 for the beta. 
> 
>  

**Additional author's note since ao3 keeps screwing around with my tags: I know this is different from how others interpreted/imagined Annie disappearing in the middle of the ep, but I love how this happened since they're not secretly dating or anything they’re OBLIVIOUSLY DATING and that’s so them the dumbos. Also I really adore this fic again (probably another favourite of those I've written), probably because it’s kinda stylistically similar in tone to “[Where the Night Takes Us”](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3715114)  which this fic is sort of a sequel to. It's also a bit longer version of the one written for the fic battle/fest.   
**

**xxxxxxxxxx**

 

Jeff is standing forlornly outside of Apartment 303; idly listening to the merriment continuing on inside, reluctant to leave. He’s just turning to exit the apartment complex when a sound gives him pause.

The door shudders open and Annie emerges hastily into the corridor. She seemingly doesn’t notice his presence until almost colliding into his chest.

“Whoa there, slow down, Tiger,” Jeff jokes. His hand is resting comfortably around her rib cage, and he likes it. He lets his touch linger until Annie manages a small smile and extricates herself from him.

Her expression slides into one of frustration as she shoots an annoyed glance back at the sounds of partying echoing from Casa Anbedrita. Sensing the unrest within her, Jeff asks,

“Are you okay, Annie?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” Annie replies, but her voice has lost its usual perk. “I mean, it’s just so great to have all this partying going on, at my house, when I need to study, and Britta is such a rebellious teenager who doesn’t listen…”

Jeff holds her gaze as she continues to rattle on:

“But you know what? It’s all right. Britta is gonna learn, and school isn’t everything, and maybe I should really just relax.”

“I missed you,” Jeff murmurs under his breath, just vaguely enough that Annie shouldn’t have been able to hear, but it’s too late. Her blue eyes jerk towards his face and he’s cornered like a deer in the headlights. He shrugs it off, secretly a bit disappointed that she doesn’t have much of a reaction to his statement.

“I was just in my room,” Annie teases, bumping up against his chest playfully. “There was no reason to miss me, I was still there.”

“But you weren’t with us,” _me_ , Jeff can fill the word on the tip of his tongue but he can’t formulate it. “And so the party was boring, so I was trying to cut and run but you found me. Busted.”  

Annie’s face broadens into a real grin. Her happiness is so palpable from hearing those words it warms him up, deep down inside. He can’t verbalise to her yet how he truly feels or tell her about the revelation in Borchert’s lab, but this is one more step to getting there.

“Well, I have an idea,” Annie says, rising her eyebrows at him with that little quirk that only he sees, “since neither of us want to be here, why don’t we go ‘party like there’s no tomorrow’ on the town instead?”

“That’s actually preferable to the alternative, which is me going home alone to my apartment and you ignoring Britta’s party by staying in your room,” Jeff says, finding himself smiling at her. He extends his left arm to her.  
“Milady?”

Annie’s face blooms in a wide grin from hearing that word again. _She’s missed it as much as I have,_ Jeff considers, again, staring at the happiness brightening her eyes and the roses on her cheeks.

“Milord,” Annie finally answers, taking his arm.

They walk together down to his Lexus in companionable silence, neither really needing to say anything, just treasuring the time with each other.

Once they reach the Lexus, Jeff holds open the car door for Annie to let her slip in before joining her in his own place at the driver’s seat.

“So, where do you want to go?” Jeff asks.

Annie leans back against her seat with a sigh, tilting her head to look at him as he puts the car in reverse.

“Well, I guess we could go see a movie, or do window-shopping, try out a new bar, maybe some window-shopping, something like that.” There’s a short pause and then Annie says, “Ooh, we could go to a bookstore!”

Jeff chuckles, encouraged by her happiness, 

“We can do anything you want,” he says.

....

They begin their night on the town by driving to the Tattered Cover bookstore in Denver. Annie falls into a trance over the bountiful shelves of books and the homey setting. Jeff just trails after to her, smiling to himself as she gets excited over some book she hasn’t read yet or shows him a book about law curriculum. Once, she even finds a trivia book about forensics and pulls Jeff into an alcove in the corner so that they can both leaf through it together.

Annie settles herself onto his lap as Jeff sighs deeply, enjoying the security of her presence. She nestles her arm under his shoulder, using her other hand to prop up the small book. After a moment, Jeff’s attention veers from the book to study Annie’s profile.

Her cheek looks so soft that he wants to reach out and stroke it but he slays the impulse, wondering if Annie would think him crazy. Her lips are tantalisingly full, just made for kissing.

Jeff idly thinks to himself that Annie is the type of woman who should be kissed, and often – by someone who knows how. Like him. Once he finally gets up the courage to tell her what happened in Borchert’s lab…

“Jeff? Jeff?” Again, Annie’s voice awakens him from his fantasies of her. “Look at this. There’s an FBI office you can intern at in Denver. This is one way I can marry my forensics interest and my law understanding.”

Jeff blinks at her as the word _marry_ seeps into his brain. He’s nearly about to disappear into another daydream about him and Annie doing that very thing when the implication of Annie’s words hit him in the gut.

He abruptly sits upright, making Annie grab onto his shirt to not lose her balance.

“Annie... you’re thinking of leaving?” He says in a low voice, trying to hide his sudden emotion from her. “You’re thinking of leaving Greendale?” _Again_ and, _You're thinking of leaving_ _me?_   _  
_

Annie nods her head imperceptibly, seemingly unaware of his surprised reaction. She quirks her eyebrow at him, smiling gently as she says,

“Jeff, don’t worry. I won’t be far. I mean, you live here in Denver too. We’ll still be able to see each other a lot.”

Jeff relaxes, but the fear stays in his eyes. To brush it off and keep Annie in the dark about his insecurities, he makes a joke of it.

“Well, then you better visit,” he says, tasting anew familiar words he told her six years ago when she was planning on going to Delaware with Tiny Nipples.

.... 

Annie continues to browse Tattered Cover as Jeff uses the bookstore’s wifi to see what movies are currently playing in town. Annie trails over, her arms full of books, and they decide to go see _Furious 7_ , in part because neither of them has seen any Fast and Furious movies and because the movie was filmed in Colorado (some of it, anyway) and because Annie thinks it would be nice for them to see it in honour of Paul Walker’s memory.

The movie is your typical action movie, but it allows Jeff to snuggle up next to Annie in the cushy theatre chairs and treat her to popcorn and soda.

After the movie – the theatre is in the heart of Denver – they stroll around on the sidewalks, sometimes peering in the windows of stores to admire clothes or antiques or whatever strikes their fancy.

Annie stumbles upon a new bar so they venture inside to try it out. It’s smaller than most of the bars Jeff usually frequent (like L Street and the Ballroom) and so thus has a cosy, homey feel. Jeff orders his usual, scotch, and is surprised when Annie doesn’t ask for her usual. Instead she asks for a scotch as well.

Annie notices his stare boring into her, turning her head to look at him.

“You don’t usually drink scotch,” he says.

Annie laughs at him.

“I did during our third year during our Law and Order day and I liked it. And besides, I’m trying to live in the moment again. What’s a better way of living in the moment than stepping outside of your comfort zone?”

Jeff says nothing in reply, only nods, mulling over her words.

....

They stay so long at the bar just talking and enjoying each other’s company that it eventually closes. The bartenders cheerfully escort them out and they’re walking on the sidewalk again when Jeff decides to check his phone for the time.

He accidentally presses his songs playlist and the Beatles “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” begins to play.

Annie is leaning on him, apparently too engrossed in the night sky to hear his music, so he takes the opportunity to slip his hand into hers. She glances up at him as his grip tightens around her hand with a smile before she snuggles against his shoulder. A feeling of peace radiates through Jeff’s entire body as he secretly thanks the Beatles for being a moment creator.

....

It’s nearly dawn when their night on the town concludes.

Jeff drops Annie off at Apartment 303, helping her out of the Lexus. Nearby, they can still hear the sounds of movie-created partying.

“Thanks for this, Jeff,” Annie says to him with a smile. “It really helped me tonight.”

“Aww, it was nothing,” Jeff murmurs, a bit self-deprecatingly. “Anything for you, Annie.”

“You’d really do anything for me?” Annie queries, almost as if she can’t believe it.

 _Oh Annie, for you I would do anything_ , Jeff thinks but doesn’t say.

“You better believe it,” he teases instead. “Night, milady.”

Hearing the old endearment makes Annie glow again. She waves to him as she disappears inside the apartment building.

Jeff is left staring after her, smiling, feeling better than he’s felt in weeks.

 

**review?**


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